There's Good Beer to Be Had Even in the Flatlands: Metropolitan's Dynamo

Chicago's Metropolitan Brewing is kind of like Capital here in Madison in that they concentrate on German styles of beer. No pale ales emerge from the tanks down in the city's Ravenswood neighborhood. Brewmaster Doug Hurst studied in Munich and the styles in that part of the world stuck with him. To top things off, the Metropolitan folks I've met were really great people. I've chatted a bit with Doug's wife Tracy, who was very friendly, and had a brief exchange with one of their minions who, I discovered, is, like me, a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. These are good people.

Today I turn my attention toward their Dynamo Copper Lager.





Dynamo is a Vienna lager and I think even my poor picture shows that it adheres to the style as far as color goes with its copper hue. And just as it should, my glass ended up with a nice big head after being poured and there were plenty of bubbles floating up my pilsner glass. My nose caught a mild hop spiciness along with some caramel sweetness from the malts and this is not a bad description of the beer's taste. It has a medium body that is fairly sweet in addition to being grainy but it's not in your face. The hops join in nicely with their earthy spiciness but practice temperance, complementing the malt and now overpowering it. They build towards the end with a nice dry finish.

If you're a Cheesehead who's familiar with Capital Amber and/or Sprecher Special Amber, then think of Dynamo as a milder version of these beers with less of a malt profile.

I neglected to pair Dynamo with junk food but my speculation says that it would go well with Bugles.

Dynamo is not available in Wisconsin so you'll have to head to Chicagoland to get your hands on some. Check out Metropolitan's website for establishments carrying their brew.